A Journey to Malaysia for TPAC’s Inaugural Asian Conference
I can’t say I was too upset when Marc decided a trip to TPAC’s inaugural conference in Malaysia was something we should cover. I mean who wouldn’t love a trip to stunning South East Asia with the allure of vibrant culture, stunning landscapes, and mouth-watering cuisine? . Granted the long haul flight isn’t pretty but oh my! was it worth it.
From the moment we arrived, it was clear the TPAC team—Doug, Kit, and Shannon had orchestrated something special. The Shangri-La Rasa Sayang, Penang. is luxurious and very well run for a conference designed to facilitate connection, and collaboration.
Of course, there was a tinge of disappointment when we learned, just weeks before the event, that Sage had decided to dissolve its Asia-Pacific organization. A decision I found a little short-sighted, but alas, such choices are beyond my purview. Despite this, Sage maintained a strong presence at the conference, with a contingent of around 25 staff members, including the ever-engaging Jeff Richards. Jeff’s five-hour marathon of Sage CRM presentations attracted a diverse delegation hailing from across Asia.
The exhibition space was intimate yet vibrant, fostering a friendly and engaging atmosphere. Exhibitors seamlessly balanced fun and functionality, blending product demos with lively sales conversations. It was exciting to showcase our offerings to a fresh and dynamic market, and a thrill afterwards to update our Sage CRM Database with countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia.
The energy at sessions was palpable, with attendees showing keen interest in our Sage 300 integration solutions, including email integration for Outlook, OWA, Gmail, and our MobileX platform for Sage 300. Lively discussions left us optimistic about building a robust customer base in the Asian market. We’re already working on price sheets in local currencies to better serve this region.
The Sage network is alive and well in Asia and I truly do look forward to next years event, the location of which is yet to be revealed though I heard murmurings of Bangkok, a City I love.
The prize giving was lively, only those in the room could accept the prize, Clement won our own offering of delectable Irish Whiskey, I have yet to hear if he enjoyed it! 
For now, I look back on Malaysia with gratitude—grateful for the opportunity to immerse ourselves in such a vibrant market. Kudos to TPAC for setting the bar so high with their inaugural conference. I, for one, am already counting down to next year’s event.
An extra bonus for me personally was that I was able to take some time to explore Malaysia, I fitted in Langkawi, Georgetown of course, Kuala Lumpur and Malacca. Its a country I hope to revisit again sometime in the future.
In the meantime keep an eye on the TPAC website for more events coming up